A former carny kid casts an insider's eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between

Luna Park NYC Halloween Gig for Famed Haunted House Creator

Timothy Haskell, the Off-Broadway theater director whose annual Nightmare Haunted House in NoHo bills itself as New York’s Most Horrifying Haunted House is coming to Coney Island for Halloween. On August 11, Haskell tweeted: “got the gig to turn Luna Park in Coney Island into a Halloween wonderland. Opens October 15th. Pretty cool.”

Yesterday, Haskell had a meeting with Zamperla/Central Amusements International, the operators of Luna Park, according to his twitter feed: “Going to Luna Park (coney island) to discuss my concepts for the haunted theme I will be implementing. It’s going to be scarecrows!”

Although Luna Park has yet to announce details of their Halloween festivities, the amusement park, which is open daily through Labor Day, will remain open weekends through Halloween, according to a recent post on the Luna Park NYC Facebook page. When reached for comment, Valerio Ferrari, who is president of both CAI and Zamperla’s United States branch, said in two weeks they’ll know for certain if the project is a go for Halloween 2010.

In October Coney Island USA will stage their annual Creepshow at the Freakshow haunted house tour of CIUSA’s building. The show is written and directed by CIUSA founder and Mermaid Parade creator Dick Zigun, who says this year’s theme is “The Ride Inspector’s Nightmare”! The Creepshow’s designer is Kate Dale, whose fabulous creations for the Mermaid Parade have won her “Best Mermaid” and “Best Float” more times than anyone else in the history of the parade.

UPDATE September 7, 2010:

Luna Park Presents Nights of Horror…Here to Haunt You is set for Halloween 2010. This banner advertising the event was on display in Luna over Labor Day Weekend…According to a flyer, the event is scheduled for October 15- 31, on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm – 12 am, and on Sundays from 5 pm -10 pm.